Puttin on the Armor
Here are some selections from an article I wrote that just never quite worked. I’ve always been fascinated – read befuddled – by the topic of the Armor of God. Here’s one way I tried to work through it.
How many Sunday School lessons and sermons have we heard about the Armor of God, complete with picture of a Roman soldier in full armor intended to give us insight into the armor.
I can understand the armor that Roman soldier is wearing, but honestly I’ve never been able to figure out how we as Christians put it on!
The one piece of armor I could comprehend was the sword that is the Word of God. I know the verses about the Bible being sharper than a two-edged sword. The Bible is a tangible item that I recognize. But the others? Where are they? How do I put them on?
If you haven’t suffered through dozens of lessons as I did, count yourself fortunate. You have the advantage of a fresh start. Here is the passage in Ephesians 6:14-17.
14 Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, 15 and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. 16 In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit -- which is the Word of God. (Christian Standard Bible)
It seems simple, but do you know how to put it on?
In a lifetime of lessons and sermons the descriptions and applications were similar.
The Belt of Truth: The Roman soldier wore his belt on the outside of his tunic and armor to hold everything in place. We have the Truth revealed to us in the Bible. That one goes along with the sword, so I’ll say I get this one too.
The Armor or Breastplate of Righteousness: We’ve seen enough movies to picture a breastplate. It covered the front of the soldier’s body. Our righteousness as Christians is given to us through Christ and guards our hearts. But how do we put it on?
Next are the sandals. Easy enough. Don’t picture flip flops, however. The soldier’s sandals were made for long marches and had thick soles and a tight wrapping around the ankles. Our sandals -- our firm foundation -- are the Gospel of Peace.
The shield, helmet and sword speak for themselves. We know what they look like. We even know what they represent -- our shield is our faith and our helmet is our salvation. Of the six pieces of armor, the only item that is an offensive weapon is the sword. As I mentioned, I get this one. The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.
The descriptions were not the problem. In fact, they make a lot of sense. Where I got hung up was on the idea of putting the armor on. How do I do that? After fifty years of looking at the Armor of God, the only thing that comes to mind is a picture of a Roman soldier. What does he have to do with me?
A year or so ago I was studying a lesson for my adult Sunday School class on the subject of – you guessed it – the Armor of God, and the Holy Spirit gave me some clarity.
As I was teaching I referred to Paul’s words in Romans 8:9 where he says if anyone doesn’t have the Holy Spirit he or she is not saved. To be saved is to have the Holy Spirit. Here is the helmet of salvation. After fifty years the circuits connected, and I knew where to find the armor of God.
From the Holy Spirit.
Du-uh. I know. How dense could I be? But there was still the issue of putting them on. How does that work?
The first step is to receive Jesus as my Savior.
Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But there was more. I realized it’s a package deal. When I got saved, I received the Holy Spirit, and with the Holy Spirit I received the armor of God. The armor is always with me, just as the Holy Spirit is always with me. I don’t have to physically put it on because it’s already inside me.
I find it easier to picture the armor as an egg puzzle in which all the parts are interlocked. In fact, if you activate one piece of the armor, you activate them all.
The “egg” begins with salvation. As we don the helmet of salvation, we recognize the truth of God’s word and so lock in the belt of truth. As we grow in the faith (which is our shield), we learn how to use the Sword of the Spirit that is the Word of God. In short order we have begun our journey as a Christian and our egg is nearly complete.
We receive the righteousness of Christ when we are saved, but we grow in righteousness as we put on the breastplate and turn to the Word of God for wisdom. And now we put on our sandals of the Gospel of Peace. We find them in the Great Commission given by Christ in Matthew 28:19 -20. Someone shared the Gospel with us which released peace into our hearts. Now we must pass it on. Lock the piece in. Our egg -- our armor -- is complete.
The pictures of Roman soldiers confused me because I thought I had to DO something physical to put the armor on. When I realized it’s a gift of the Holy Spirit that comes with our salvation, a whole new spiritual world opened up to me. That’s not to say it doesn’t require some action and discipline on our part. If we’re not reading our Bibles, praying, submitting to the control of the Holy Spirit and acknowledging Christ as Lord, how can we be ready for battle?
Allow me to preach for one second: Too many Christians are sitting in the pews feeling woeful and defeated with their armor laying unused at their feet. Don’t let your armor rust. It was a gift that came as part of the package of your salvation and the Holy Spirit. It’s waiting for you to activate it by yielding your heart and life to the Lord.
Put it on!
Thanks for reading. If this article helped you to understand the Armor of God, please leave a comment.
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